Ed Fiori, a four-time PGA Tour winner who once chased down Tiger Woods, is dead at age 72

Ed Fiori’s final of four PGA Tour wins is the one he was best known for – staring down a 20-year-old Tiger Woods at age 43 to capture the 1996 Quad City Classic (now known as the John Deere Classic). Fiori died on the morning of July 6 at age 72 due to complications with cancer, the PGA Tour announced.

“Ed Fiori was a true gentleman in our sport, and is a player who would often be referred to as a pro’s pro,” said PGA Tour Champions President Miller Brady. “In three of his four wins on the PGA Tour, he dueled down the stretch with future World Golf Hall of Fame members, most notably Tiger Woods in 1996. That grit and resolution in the face of immeasurable odds is incredibly admirable in every aspect of life, and I know he battled cancer with that same determination until the end. He will be missed by all of us at the Tour.”

Nicknamed “The Grip,” for the unusually strong grip he played with, Fiori won his first title at the 1979 Southern Open. He would go on to add wins at the 1981 Western Open and 1982 Bob Hope Desert Classic.

Born April 21, 1953, in Lynwood, California, Fiori played his college golf at University of Houston, earning second-team All-American honors his junior year and contributing to the Cougars winning the national title his senior year in 1977.

Woods, who had turned pro after winning his third consecutive U.S. Amateur, held a one-stroke lead over Fiori heading into the final round of Quad Cities Classic at Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, Illinois, and was searching for his first win on the PGA Tour. But Woods made a quadruple-bogey at No. 4 and a four-putt double bogey at No. 7.

“There’s no other way to put it: The kid self-imploded,” Fiori told Golf.com in 2019. He told his caddie, “Bullet, let’s see if we can get this one in to the house.”

The veteran Fiori claimed his first title in 14 years, despite being outdriven regularly by 50 yards, closing with 67 for a two-shot victory over Andrew Magee. For the next 13 years, Fiori was the only player to rally from a 54-hole deficit to beat Woods.

Fiori won one more time during his PGA Tour Champions career, edging Graham Marsh in a playoff at the 2004 MasterCard Classic. He had spinal fusion surgery in 2005 but never regained his form and before long had to give up the game. He made a combined 583 career starts between 1978-2004. But until his final days, friends referred to him fondly not just as The Grip but also as the Tiger Killer.